Prodigy star Keith Flint died by hanging and had unspecified amounts of cocaine, alcohol and codeine in his system at the time, an inquest has heard.

Keith, 49, was found dead at his home in the Essex hamlet of North End by a friend on March 4.

A post-mortem examination found the cause of death to be hanging.

The report also noted the presence of cocaine, alcohol and codeine, an inquest into his death at Chelmsford Coroners Court heard on Wednesday.

Police attended the much-loved singer's home and found there were no suspicious circumstances and no third party involvement.

Recording an open conclusion into the death coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray told the inquest: "We will never quite know what was going on in his mind on that date and so that's why I'm going to record an open conclusion."

She added: "I've considered suicide.

Keith Flint shot to fame after his appearance in the music video for Firestarter

"To record that, I would have to have found that, on the balance of probabilities, Mr Flint formed the idea and took a deliberate action knowing it would result in his death.

"Having regard to all the circumstances I don't find that there's enough evidence for that."

The coroner found insufficient evidence to conclude his death as an accident, where he may have been "larking around and it all went horribly wrong".

Describing Flint as "extremely popular," she asked the coroner's officer to express the court's sympathy to his family and to the band manager.

Flint's family and band manager did not wish to attend the inquest.

Describing Flint as "extremely popular," she asked the coroner's officer to express the court's sympathy to his family and to the band manager.

Music fans travelled from as far as the other side of the world in Australia to gather outside St Mary's Church in Bocking for Flint's funeral on March 29.

He became an iconic figure in the British music scene with his energetic live performances and distinctive hair and clothes.

Born in Redbridge, East London, he moved to Braintree, Essex, as a child and met The Prodigy co-founder Liam Howlett at a nightclub.

Flint was originally a dancer for the group, but later featured as a vocalist on Firestarter.

In a statement by bandmates Liam Howlett and Maxim, Flint was described as “a true pioneer, innovator and legend”. They said he was their "brother and best friend" and "he will be forever missed".

Helplines and websites

Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. If you prefer to write down how you’re feeling, or if you’re worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org .

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PAPYRUS (0800 068 41 41) is a national charity supporting teenagers and young adults who are feeling suicidal.

Depression Alliance is a charity for people with depression. It doesn’t have a helpline, but offers a wide range of useful resources and links to other relevant information. http://www.depressionalliance.org/

Students Against Depression is a website for students who are depressed, have a low mood or are having suicidal thoughts. Bullying UK is a website for both children and adults affected by bullying. http://studentsagainstdepression.org/

The Sanctuary (0300 003 7029 ) helps people who are struggling to cope - experiencing depression, anxiety, panic attacks or in crisis. You can call them between 8pm and 6am every night.